We’re in that hazy stretch between Christmas and New Year, which in our house usually means lots of chocolate, movies, and board games. During the last Travelling Man board game sale I picked up the Greek Monsters edition of Horrified on a whim. We have been patiently waiting for the holidays to finally give it a go – and it has quickly become a new favourite! I mean, just look at that box!
When you lift off the lid, you’re met with your quest: it’s up to you to defeat the monsters and rid the world of terror…
PANDORA’S BOX HAS BEEN BREACHED!
SIX MONSTERS HAVE ERUPTED FROM ITS INFINITE DEPTHS. YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY THE GODS TO WORK TOGETHER AND RID OUR WORLD OF THIS SCOURGE.
MAKE HASTE! FOR IF YOU FAIL IN YOUR TASK, WE SHALL BE PLUNGED INTO EVERLASTING FEAR!
I wasn’t sure if the 7yo would be interested but he was super keen to give it a go – he’s been playing lots of Talisman with his dad, and has much more brain capacity for gameplay rules than me. I’m definitely the kind of person who cannot understand a word of written instructions if I just read them – my ever-patient husband has to read them out and remind me what to do while we play the first couple of times, and then I finally get it.
The game markets itself as 12+ but I’d say that’s a flexible guide! If you have a keen lil board game enthusiast it shouldn’t be a problem for them, and nothing too scary happens in this one – the box illustration is much more intense than the colourful game design inside. It is also a good game for younger kiddos as it is collaborative: you work together as a team and help each other as you go, so there’s no pressure on any one person to ‘win’ and you can make decisions as a group. The instructions also include tiered gameplay guides so you can play at an easier level while you get the hang of it.
The set-up was straightforward, and the board design is so colourful and engaging! I was tempted to steal the little token bag for myself..
The board is designed like an Ancient Greek island and you’ll find lots of interesting buildings scattered around the map. There’s everyday sites like the Agora (marketplace), Odeon, and Gymnasium. There’s also temples to different gods and goddesses, spooky spots like the Bay of Ghosts and the Necropolis, and even a crowd-pleasing Gaseous Swamp.
You choose your own character from the six options available, and each comes with its own Special Ability to help you on your quest. I choose Musician on purely aesthetic grounds (cool dude, purple, has a lyre), the 7yo was the Actor, and husband chose the Traveller. The pieces for the characters are cardboard on coloured stands, while the monster pieces are 3D plastic figures. You and the monsters are set on the board at different starting locations around the map.
Other characters called ‘legends’ may be added to the board during play – this includes a range of mythological celebrities like Daedalus, Hippolyta, Midas, Atalanta, and more! We were all excited to add Daedalus to our board until I immediately got him killed (sorry Daedalus!) There’s also different useful items scattered about the board for your character to pick up. I liked the design of these a lot! You’ll encounter some proper ancient objects, often with their Ancient Greek names like the kopis, rhyton and aulos.
There are six monsters to battle in total: Medusa, Cerberus, the Minotaur, the Siren, the Basilisk and the Chimera. Their little models are suitably terrifying! The details on them are great, too. I’m a big fan of the Siren having her bird feet and not looking like a mermaid.
Each monster has their own ‘monster mat’ which gives instructions on how to defeat them – there’s usually two stages, involving specific movements around the board or gathering / removing special items. The challenges are usually linked with that monster’s mythology – so, for the Minotaur, you must reassemble the labyrinth while for Medusa you have to gather mirrors. We liked the Cerberus challenge as you are actually returning him to the Underworld, so you need to unlock the Gates of Hades to get him back inside!
For us as total novices our first game lasted about 45 minutes, and although we banished the Basilisk we were defeated by Cerberus. We had so much fun though we immediately played another round and this time we won!
We’ve played it several times since, and even branched out with one of the other versions, Universal Monsters which I am equally obsessed with (there’s a Mummy in that one, so I guess it still counts as ancient?!) It’s definitely a new family favourite, and is perfect for a shorter gaming session together. We’d recommend adding in some atmospheric background music as you play, too – Spotify has some excellent playlist choices. Greek Taverna was a bit too jaunty so we went with Spooky Ambience, but if you find a good creepy classical soundtrack let me know!
wee classics 